Before the boom, the province passed on a chance to head off many of the concerns some Albertans have today about coal bed methane

Before the boom, the province passed on a chance to head off many of the concerns some Albertans have today about coal bed methane by Renata D’Aliesio and Tony Seskus, November 15, 2006, Calgary Herald
The flyer was provocative. “Profit zones or sacrifice zones?” its bold letters screamed. From the southern prairie town of Nanton to the capital of Alberta, rural community halls and big-city classrooms were abuzz with worry last March about a type of natural gas called coal bed methane, or CBM. “Hear the real truth about CBM’s impact on farmlands, water and quality of life!” Hundreds of people flocked to the town hall forums. Anxious government officials also gathered to gauge public reaction and keep watch of politicians and reporters. Today, many eyes — from community halls to the corridors of the legislature — are watching the rapid development of Alberta’s coal bed methane industry. “It’s an enormous resource,” says Alberta Energy Minister Greg Melchin. “The more wells you drill, certainly there are issues you have to be cognizant about.” Barely a blip six years ago, at least 7,700 coal bed methane wells have emerged on the landscape, many in the densely populated stretch between Calgary and Edmonton. And though it has produced a vital new source of natural gas, some concerned Albertans wonder if its development is worth the trouble. “This activity is much like an addict that needs its next hit,” charged farmer Kevin Niemi at a regulatory hearing last spring for 15 proposed coal bed methane wells in the Torrington area in central Alberta. “It’s a rampant, runaway expansion of industrialization of rural Alberta.” … As the debate intensifies, industry officials and government regulators assure Albertans that the pace of development is thoughtful, well-managed and, above all, safe. “It (the pace) has surprised maybe everybody,” Melchin says. “But it hasn’t surprised us in the sense that it’s coming faster than you’re capable of addressing.” Furthermore, they stress, there’s no evidence coal bed methane is causing water woes or other major problems — and all development has been done according to existing provincial regulations. “It’s being done responsibly,” says Kin Chow, chairman of the Canadian Society for Unconventional Gas, which represents energy firms drilling and producing coal bed methane.